


Hey, buddy

by BubbaKnowlton



Series: Hey, kids (3/4th Human) [5]
Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Existential Crisis, M/M, Mentions of self-amputation, Mentions of xeno hux, Non-binary character, Underage Smoking, body horror mention, don't listen to ur older siblings if they tell you to do bad things, kids overreacting and doing dangerous things, kids plotting and scheming
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-07
Updated: 2016-09-07
Packaged: 2018-08-13 14:22:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,307
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7979881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BubbaKnowlton/pseuds/BubbaKnowlton
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"<i>Careful, Ren.</i>"</p><p>The first of the army plots to save the rest with the last.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hey, buddy

**Author's Note:**

> Y'all...im so sorry some of u have missed the message given by the series summary and my repeated mentions of xeno Hux. The kids ain't clones lmao. Unfortunately I can't say more that would spoil the main story.  
> Also this part didn't come out the way I wanted. KJ is supposed to be more of a prick to Kylo but it didn't happen to the extent I wanted it to.  
> Also I made a list of 'important' kids (not in any particular order) w names, gender, status. Numbers blocked as spoilers.  
> -#4 Ani [girl] DECEASED  
> -#?? Bail [boy] DECEASED  
> -#?? Matt [boy] (Knight) DECEASED  
> -#?? Sheev [boy] OUT OF COMMISSION  
> -#1 Junior 'First' [boy] (Knight) MISSING  
> -#?? Breha [non-binary girl]  
> -#??? Endo 'Finale' [non-binary] MISSING  
> -#??? Viv [girl]  
> -#??? Jenna [girl]

**Hey, buddy**

#1

He was the first.

The first son.

The firstborn.

The first of the Emperor's army, born and raised.

Their loyalty was-

Sheev had screamed about numbers and betrayal as he held him down. Ravaging through the chaos of his younger brother's thoughts had given him insight into what was going on.

Eldest of them all from the same birth. An impossible number for a human, an average number for the 25% of his DNA that was not. Painful for his father, only half human, but expected. It'd been horribly difficult, the Enforcer had mentioned one day, but all in all, every last child survived.

Until now. Sheev was correct, there was a gap in the old amount of presences they'd been able to sense in the palace constantly. A gap in their little group of those who could sense those numbers, took after the Enforcer more. 4% of them were _magic_ , the Emperor had said one day, and with the amount of them there were, it counted.

Sheev had cried in the medbay, babbling about lies. The Emperor had told him something, the Enforcer could not be trusted, the Empire was built on horror tales and crimes committed by those two who were supposed to love them most.

#1 had started having nightmares, and three days after Sheev begged them to get rid of his phantom pain, another body joined his dreams. The bodies of the _deceased_ , a new word he wished none of them had learned, mutating into monsters from their wounds. Wounds he'd never even seen, so he wasn't sure how the dreams were so vivid. From her abdomen, foot, hand, and cheek, claws ruptured, wild arachnid limbs bursting forth, being freed. From his face. From his mouth, clawing out of internal wounds, rippling under the skin. Gore and powder, marionette dolls that collapsed with horrible shrieks. Sheev, still alive (but for how much longer?), had joined the dream, the remainder of his arm becoming a faucet for whatever creature was emerging.

Had this been days before, he would be seeking out the Enforcer for aid, but it was not days before, and he would heed his brother's warning. Don't trust the Knight. 

The Emperor's loyal army, a group of frightful children questioning it all.

He'd found a pack of cigarras in the throne room, and was trying one out in the back of the palace, looking out at the grass. He leaned against the cold wall, inhaling the smoke.

Ugh, how did the Emperor tolerate these? Well, he wasn't going to waste it. He stifled his coughs and blew out. At least the cloud gave an illusion of privacy. He inhaled again.

"Hey, buddy." Looking up, he saw the Enforcer.

Exhale. "Hello."

"Are you smoking? Don't do that, it's bad for you."

Inhale. "We're all gonna die some day."

The Enforcer sat next to him, and he didn't move, didn't breathe, as the cigarra was pulled from his fingers, and then crushed on the ground. Crumbling ash. He stared at the remains. Then up to the Enforcer, and blew smoke at him. It curled around his face.

Huh, when had the Enforcer looked so tired? Perhaps age was catching up with him at last. 

"KJ, why are you skipping training?"

They'd all been skipping training, having no desire to be told lies. "I didn't want to go." Sheev had said not to trust the Enforcer. He wondered how much of his teachings had been lies.

"None of you do. Why?"

Mental shields. Smugly, he wondered if the Enforcer regretted teaching them how to perfect them. "Huh, I suppose we want time to adjust. We did just learn what death was, didn't we? Sheev cut off his arm. Everything feels horrible. Three of us are dead, the inevitability that that number will grow. I didn't want to go."

He looked frustrated, and KJ felt his heart speed up. Would a hand be raised to him, as well? He grinned. "Is that all, Kylo Ren?"

"Don't-"

This was going to get him killed. "Oh, I do believe you have a more important job of tending to the Emperor. Secrets to discuss and all. You know, planning missions and what not for us to never come back alive from."

"We never wanted this to happen!"

"Then why were we born at all?" He pulled out another cigarra and put it in his mouth. He didn't bother lighting it, just chewing on the end.

It was pulled out again. "Don't put those awful things in your mouth."

"I found them."

"They aren't meant to be used. They were a gift."

"Huh. They're terrible." That explained it. He'd never seen the Emperor smoke before.

"Then don't hang onto them."

He stubbornly held onto the pack. "I want to. They taste bad, but I feel better. Calms my nightmares."

"You have nightmares?"

"What would you care? Go bother the Emperor. I'm not going to training. I never asked to be trained."

Frustration, fear, his body's natural reaction to an unknown circumstance. "You can't act like this."

"Sheev cut off his own arm to get out of this. Maybe you should take note. What did the Emperor always say?" He cleared his throat. " _Careful, Ren._ " KJ thumbed over the ends of the cigarras. "We'll all die someday." A bubble of nervous laughter, holding it down, he snorted.

"You all can't act like this forever."

"You're right. Not until we die."

His comm beeped. Pulling it out, KJ smiled at the message. A simple word, 'done'. He slipped the device back into his pocket and then grabbed the datapad sitting next to him. He signed in, and clicked 'HoloNet Search'. The filters were off.

"I'm not in the mood for training, Kylo Ren. I have research to do."

Irritatingly, he seemed to relax and did not leave. "What of?"

"Oh, just about TIE fighters."

-

-How to fly a TIE fighter  
-How to detach a TIE fighter from a cable  
-How many pilots does a TIE fighter need  
-Do First Order TIE fighters need two pilots  
-How to stop nightmares  
-How to stop death  
-Force legends about death  
-What's a Jedi or Sith  
-Who are Jedi  
-Where to find a force sensitive  
-Who is Darth Vader  
-Who is Luke Skywalker  
-Map to Naboo

Oh, of course. They'd never been allowed to go on the HoloNet so freely. He could see why, with all that information. He'd stopped reading Republic articles when he felt sick to his stomach.

He got up later, and spotted one of his siblings wandering in the distance of the palace grounds. They were approaching the walls, sizing it up. A quick glance at their thoughts -they were curious about climbing it. No intent to escape, just... climb, and see what was on the other side, maybe some plants, then come back down.

Perfect.

"Excuse me!" KJ shouted. They startled, turning around. "It's just me, I'm the First! KJ!"

"I'm the Last! Endo!"

Oh, this was really perfect. Grinning, KJ walked up to Endo. They waited, and held out their wrist so he could look at the bracelet. KJ did the same. Endo was one of his non-binary siblings, it seemed. One of his non-binary sisters had been the one to saw off Sheev's arm.

"Hey Endo... want to run away with me?"

"Huh?"

"I think I found a solution for everything. But I need to leave, and I need a second pilot with me. What do you think, should the first and final children run off to save what's in between?"

"O-oh! Yes, of course! Do you have a plan?"

"Loosely. We can improvise on the go."

"Will we start now?" Endo glanced up at the wall.

"I don't see why not." The loyalty of the army was broken. "Let's go steal a TIE fighter."

"Alright!"

**Author's Note:**

> Apparently the previous story confused people so if u have questions hit me up! I'll answer if it's not a spoiler, such as 'what the fuck did Sheev do to his arm' WHICH is 'he had a very bad panic attack, overreacted like a True Skywalker Boy, and followed the tradition of his family by cutting off his arm because his phantom pain got Really Bad due to said panic attack'  
> Follow and talk to me on tumblr! @Oblioknowlton


End file.
